Community saves homes during devastating wildfire evacuation

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I peered through the smoke-filled streets of Palisades on that fateful Tuesday morning as my family and I hastily evacuated, carrying only essential documents and a couple days’ worth of clothes. We’d already made peace with the possibility of losing our home to the flames.

Later, while monitoring the CalFire website, we noticed something peculiar – our house and our neighbor’s property appeared to sit just beyond the burn perimeter line marking the fire’s destructive path.

The next day, my press credentials allowed me to return to the area. As I made my way to our corner house in the Marquez Knolls neighborhood, I was astonished to find it still standing, along with my neighbor’s residence.

NEW: LA Mayor Karen Bass called for $49M in additional cuts to the fire department just *one week* before the LA fires which would have shut down 16 fire stations.

California: We deserve better leaders.

The revelation was made by the Daily Mail who obtained a leaked internal… pic.twitter.com/QZzZzUxwP9

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 10, 2025

The situation remained dire – fires raged down the street, making it impossible to venture closer, while firefighters battled to protect the local elementary school nearby.

Though our house hadn’t caught fire yet, smoke billowed from the back walkway. Upon inspection, I discovered our vinyl picket fence had melted in multiple spots. Smoke rose from both an aging wooden retaining wall and the fence separating our property from next door.

Initially hesitant to intervene, I realized I might be able to protect the house if I could locate a water source. The back faucet yielded nothing, so I searched for our garden hose, typically coiled in the front yard.

To my surprise, the hose was already stretched across the driveway into the backyard near the melted fence. Clearly, someone – perhaps a neighbor or firefighter – had previously used it to combat flames threatening the property, likely saving our home in the process.

With the water supply now cut off, I noticed runoff flowing down the street. Emptying my son’s baseball bucket, I began a makeshift firefighting operation, repeatedly filling it with gutter water to douse the smoldering retaining wall and fence posts.

After about ten minutes, two men in a pickup truck stopped to assist. We located additional buckets and formed an impromptu bucket brigade, even extinguishing fires in the neighboring yard’s trees.

Overwhelmed by this display of community spirit, I exclaimed, “This is Palisades!”

A large reservoir in Pacific Palisades was offline and empty when the firestorm hit, reportedly for repairs.

It provides 117 million gallons of water storage which would’ve been used to fight the fires had it been operable.

The incompetence of California officials is off the… pic.twitter.com/dmxJp0PsqK

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 10, 2025

When the wind shifted, directing black smoke from the school our way, one helper warned it was time to leave. There wasn’t time to exchange information, but he quipped, “Don’t worry, we know where you live,” as we promised to reconnect later.

Departing the scene, I surveyed the rest of Palisades, navigating between fires and downed power lines. The widespread destruction was devastating, and my heart ached for those who’d lost everything.

I still struggle to comprehend why our home survived while others didn’t, or whether it would make it through another night. But taking action alongside helpful neighbors felt meaningful.

I’ve since heard countless similar stories of neighbors risking their safety to help one another. That’s the essence of Palisades, and it’s why our community will emerge stronger through reconstruction.